2014.06 Evaluation of the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund Ghana

Poor infrastructure, lack of regulation and imperfect markets are often cited as constraining factors for private sector growth in Africa. The Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC) in Ghana is supporting private sector organisations in their advocacy work towards local authorities for better business environment. The fund was initiated in 2004 and the current phase of support is ending in 2015. Total support to BUSAC has amounted to USD 35 mio. over the period and the fund has supported more than 750 advocacy projects. DFID, USAID and EU have co-funded BUSAC, which was managed by COWI A/S.

The Evaluation indicates that BUSAC has been relevant in relation to the objectives of both Danida and the Government of Ghana. BUSAC has been an efficient tool for strengthening private sector advocacy and has had a positive influence on the capacity of private sector organisations to do advocacy work. There are many examples of successful BUSAC-supported advocacy projects, especially at local level, but the Evaluation has not been able to confirm the link between BUSAC-funded activities and an improved overall business environment or increased growth and employment. This is partially due to the difficulties in distinguishing the contribution of advocacy activities from other factors influencing policy change.

The Evaluation was undertaken by the British consultancy company Oxford Policy Management from April to October 2014.

• Download Evaluation Report (PDF)  
• Download Summary in Danish (PDF) 
• Download Management Response (PDF) 

Download Annexes:

• Annex A: Methods for Data Collection (PDF) 
• Annex B: Revised Evaluation Questions, Findings and Evidence (PDF) 
• Annex C: The Theory of Change - Testing the Causal Chain (PDF) 
• Annex D: Performance against the Logframe (PDF) 
• Annex E: Ghana Doing Business Summary (PDF) 
• Annex F: Selected Grant Project Results (PDF) 
• Annex G: Level 2 Project Selection and Evaluation Scoring (PDF) 
• Annex H: Focus Group Findings (PDF) 
• Annex I: Results of the Challenge Fund VfM Process Assessment (PDF) 
• Annex J: Comparision with other Danida-Funded Business Advocacy Programmes (PDF) 
• Annex K: List of Interviewees (PDF) 
• Annex L: References (PDF)   
• Annex M: The Evaluation Team (PDF) 
• Annex N: Extracts from the Terms of Reference (PDF)